Discover what you expect from your partner, your feelings on luck and other aspects of your hidden personality. Answer the questions below and note down what you have chosen.

1. What kind of chair do you prefer ?A. Cloth coveredB. Leather coveredC. WoodD. CushionedE. One with a built-in massager

2. Tomorrow is Sunday . What are you going to do ?A. Stay home and take it easyB. Go shoppingC. Do some sportsD. Go out for a walkE. Stay in bed and catch up on my sleep

3. A box is lying in the road . What's inside ?A. An abandoned kittenB. GarbageC. TreasureD. A surprise!E. Nothing

4. If you go to the zoo, what do you look at first ?A. The panda , of course , it's the most popularB. A less popular animal , because it won't be so crowdedC. The animal closest to the zoo entranceD. Whatever's first on the recommended route and punctilious in your waysE. The animal I like best

5. What kind of present would you buy for a very close friend ?A. A handkerchief (Because your friend will be happy , no matter how many handkerchiefs he/she has already)B. Something you likeC. Something your friend has been wantingD. Something popular ( the " latest thing" )E. Something hand-made or homemade

6. You want to cross a river , but there is no bridge in sight . What do you do ?A. Swim acrossB. Build a raft and ride it acrossC. Search for a bridgeD. Search for a shallow spot to wade acrossE. Wait until the river dries up

Analysis

1. What kind of chair do you prefer ?

Hidden meaning : You want your partner ( girlfriend/boyfriend ) to:

A. Cloth coveredA. Be together with you always, no matter when or where

B. Leather coveredB. Be more open with you about himself/herself

C. WoodC. Take more care of his/her dress and manner

D. CushionedD. Be a little bit more relaxed, calm and composed

E. One with a built-in massagerE. Do more for you

The message behind the question :A chair is for sitting on . If you choose to sit on certain chair, you have no suspicions or distrust towards it. This is the same psychology present in our relationship with the people we like. In other words, the qualities you look for in a chair are similar to the qualities you look for in a partner.

2. Tomorrow is Sunday. What are you going to do ?

Hidden meaning : With respect to money:

A. Stay home and take it easyA. You spend as little as possible.

B. Go shoppingB. You spend whatever you have.

C. Do some sportsC. You save for rainy day.

D. Go out for a walkD. You spend carefully. Pennies saved turn into dollars.

E. Stay in bed and catch up on my sleepE. You are probably a bit stingy.

The message behind the question :Sunday is a day you are free to use however you want. Having freedom to do whatever you want is like having money to spend however you want. Becoming good at managing your finances is an important step towards independence. What do you think of your money spending habits? A penny for your thoughts...

3. A box lying in the road. What's in side ?

Hidden meaning : You think good luck ....

A. An abandoned kittenA. Depends on maintaining good relationships with others.

B. GarbageB. Is something you won't attain. You expect only bad luck.

C. TreasureC. Will definitely be yours , someday....

D. A surprise!D. Might come your way , but if it does , you'll be so surprised, you'll probably burst out laughing

E. NothingE. Doesn't exist. Reality is built on practicalities.

The message behind the question : People often attribute unexpected events to good luck or bad luck. When something goes well ; it's because of good luck ; when things turn sour , it's the fault of bad luck. Your answer reveals what kind of luck (what's inside the box ) you think will befall you in an unexpected circumstance (the box on the road )

4. If you go to the zoo , what do you look at first ?

Hidden meaning : The hidden side of your personality tends to be:

A. The panda , of course , it's the most popularA. Easily to attracted by fads and fashion. You are actually showy and want to be noticed.

B. A less popular animal , because it won't be so crowdedB. Reluctant to accept things as they are. In general, you are prone to think a little negative.

C. The animal closest to the zoo entranceC. Satisfied to care of things with a minimum amount of effort.

D. Whatever's first on the recommended route and punctilious in your waysD. Quite methodical and punctilious in your ways. You have few problems adapting to the rules of society.

E. The animal I like bestE. A little selfish ...You do only what interests you !

The message behind the question :When you are at the zoo, you are surrounded by caged creatures that you can't talk with , and which can't communicate with you. The fact subconsciously governs the way you act. It is very similar to how you act in human society as well. In other words, your actions reveal the hidden side of your personality...

5. What kind of present would you buy for a very closed friend ?

A. A handkerchief (Because your friend will be happy , no matter how many handkerchiefs he/she has already)A. You are not able to relate clearly to others. You tend to become lost in clouds of confusion when attempting a task.

B. Something you likeB. You are the type of person who assumes that the world revolves around yourself.

C. Something your friend has been wantingC. You are tend to think about others' feelings a lot, perhaps because you are so eager to be liked.

D. Something popular ( the " latest thing" )D. You care more about world trends and fashions in general than you do about your own, or other individuals' opinions.

E. Something hand-made or homemadeE. You have a tendency to overdo things, but basically you value your friendships highly.

The message behind the question :By stating what kind of gift you would give to a good friend, you are actually revealing how you relate to others. However, it doesn't really matter so much what you give someone - it's the thought the counts. If you care enough to give something, your friend will get the message. The dual acts of giving and receiving are, together, one of the finest pleasures and one of the best forms of communication - that friends share...

6. You want to cross a river, but there is no bridge in sight. What do you do?

Hidden meaning : When it comes to finding a romantic partner you:

A. Swim acrossA. Will search and search until you find your perfect match.

B. Build a raft and ride it acrossB. Make opportunities to interact with many people through club activities or a hobby, then select someone you like.

C. Search for a bridgeC. Don't have any particular type in mind, but are inclined to look for someone who is likely to say 'YES' if you ask him/her out.

E. Wait until the river dries upE. Are not too worried about finding someone right away. You're kind of laid-back in such matters.

The message behind the question :Your answer to this question reveals the way you tend to search for a boyfriend/girlfriend. Crossing a river is a psychological equivalent of getting out and finding that special someone. In any case, if you don't make an effort to meet people, there's no way any relationships is going to start at all. So, get to it !!!!

Sunday, May 22, 2005

Date: 19-May-2005Scheduled time of entry into consulate: 2.45pm-3pmActual arrival time at consulate: 2pmActual Interview time: ~4-4.15pm

Interview:

Me: Good afternoon

Prologue: Me inserted the "company folder" in the slot in the glass door. US Consulate Officer (USCO) picks it up, does some checking, notices the two earlier visas to the US and applies some rubber stamp on them.

USCO: (No ack for the "good anoon", maybe she didn't hear) Which project are you working for ?Me: XYZUSCO: Please speak into the mic on the left.Me: (Speaking into the mic) XYZUSCO: What does it do ?Me: (Very short) blah, blah, blah ...USCO: How long have you been working for HCL ?Me: More than 6 yearsUSCO: Which places are you going to ?Me: San Jose and (after a very hard attempt at recollection) MassachusettsUSCO: Why two places ?Me: My team is split across both those places.USCO: Please take the token to counter 1 and pay the DD.Me: Thanks

I don't know if I'd prolly write a more detailed version of the entire experience including the time that I waited and saw many people being interviewed. Let's see.

One thing though that did occur to me during the waiting period watching all the old couples trying to get a visa to the US (to visit their daughters/sons) was - "Is US worth it (for those kids) to put such aged people to such hardships and tension ? What will happen in case the visas are rejected ? How much hardship and separation can parents take at old age ?"

I've decided to stop the cartoon cronjob posts to the blog. I've very lately realized that they unnecessarily add more stuff to the blog and give a "false" indication of new items on the feed. Those who are interested may subscribe to those via Dilbert or UserFriendly.

Update: I ended up deleting a couple of the most recent cartoon posts in order to enable "actual" posts to come "up".

Monday, May 16, 2005

I'm quite inclined to try and get an iPod ($300 variety) for me sometime in the near future. Does anyone have any specific recommendation on why *not to* go for it ? Is there something better, reliable, more user friendly, more value for money or something on different set of lines ? Also, if someone has it here in India, are there any other "must buy" accessories that need to go with it ?

And, when thinking about the iPod, I wondered why it didn't have the recording facility - or does it ? It'd be so neat to be able to record something when on the move (since you already have the iPod).

Monday, May 09, 2005

Cross-posted to my regular and humor blog. An old one in a different flavor.

Apparently the computer giant decided to have some parts manufactured in Japan as a trial project. In the specifications, they set out that they will accept three defective parts per 10,000.

When the delivery came in there was an accompanying letter. "We, Japanese people, had a hard time understanding North American business practices. But the three defective parts per 10,000 have been separately manufactured and have been included in the consignment. Hope this pleases you."

Friday, May 06, 2005

"A long and interesting article in Fortune on the battle between Gates and Google. 'Forced to watch Google's stock soar the way Microsoft's used to, and Brin and Page enjoy their roles as tech's new rock stars, Gates brings to the fight a ferocity that nobody has seen since the Netscape war a decade ago. Their popularity gets under his skin. "There's companies that are just so cool that you just can't even deal with it," he says sarcastically, suggesting that Google is nothing more than the latest fad, adding, "At least they know to wear black."...Trying to build a Google killer, however, has turned out to be truly humbling for Microsoft."

Monday, May 02, 2005

While on the search for write-once CD-R media, I chanced upon Philips 50CD pack at a price of Rs.600 (online on FabMall). That's about Rs.12 per unit and shipping is supposedly free (to all major cities within India) at the moment.

Does anyone know of a better deal or has any recommendations for a particular brand ?

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Full Disclosure

Sudhir Parasuram is an employee of HCL Technologies Ltd, working for Cisco Systems Inc. Everything here, though, is his personal opinion and is not read or approved by others before it is posted. No warranties or other guarantees will be offered as to the quality of the opinions or anything else offered here.